Chapel Trail Concerned About Nearby Firing Range

PEMBROKE PINES -- In June, a police firing range will open near the Reuter Recycling of Florida plant, 1 1/2 miles from the nearest home.

But Robert Tapia, president of Chapel Trail Concerned Citizens, is worried about noise anyway.

``The sounds of gunshots carry a long distance,`` said Tapia.

Police say the sound shouldn`t be noticeable.

``It`s not going to be a constant blaze of bullets like World War II,`` said Pembroke Pines Police officer John Bedell, in charge of the firearms training program.

The range is about a mile south of Pines Boulevard, on the west side of 208th Avenue, said Bedell. The 10-acre range is surrounded by a chain link fence and 35-foot dirt berms. Shots will be fired to the east side of the site. A lake is on the other side of the berms.

Bedell said the police department will try to be as cooperative with the neighborhood as possible.

The range will not be open to the public. It will be open weekdays, usually from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. In some instances, it will stay open until dusk, so officers can receive training shooting at night, said Bedell.

Police said they needed their own range nearby because they were spending too much time -- frequently being paid overtime -- driving to one of three ranges in Broward County.

Much of the material to build this range was donated by local firms. The police department spent about $15,000 on the range.

Residents living nearby say they`re upset that yet another undesirable element is coming to their neighborhood. The western part of the city already is home to the Reuter garbage-composting plant, a proposed concrete plant and a women`s prison.

``What else are they going to do to us out here?`` said Chapel Trail resident Barbara Greenfield.